Bottom-emitting vertical cavity surface emitting laser array with integrated directed beam diffuser

Abstract

A bottom-emitting vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) chip may include a VCSEL array including plurality of VCSELs and an integrated optical element including a plurality of lens segments. The integrated optical element may direct beams provided by the plurality of VCSELs to a particular range of angles to create a diffusion pattern using the beams provided by the plurality of VCSELs. A surface of a first lens segment may be sloped to cause a beam from a first VCSEL to be steered at a first angle and a surface of a second (adjacent) lens segment may be sloped to cause a beam from a second VCSEL to be steered at a second angle. A direction of the second angle with respect to a surface of the VCSEL array may be opposite to a direction of the first angle with respect to the surface of the VCSEL array.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A bottom-emitting vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) chip, comprising:
 a VCSEL array including a plurality of VCSELs,
 wherein a first set of VCSELs of the plurality of VCSELs is connected to a first contact of the bottom-emitting VCSEL chip and a second set of VCSELs of the plurality of VCSELs is connected to a second contact of the bottom-emitting VCSEL chip; and 
   an integrated optical element including a plurality of lens segments,
 wherein the integrated optical element is configured to direct beams provided by the plurality of VCSELs to a particular range of angles to create a diffusion pattern using the beams provided by the plurality of VCSELs, 
 wherein a surface of a first lens segment is sloped to cause a beam from a first VCSEL of the plurality of VCSELs to be steered at a first angle toward a first edge of the diffusion pattern, 
 wherein a second lens segment of the plurality of lens segments is adjacent to the first lens segment, 
 wherein a surface of the second lens segment is sloped to cause a beam from a second VCSEL of the plurality of VCSELs to be steered at a second angle toward a second edge of the diffusion pattern, 
 wherein a third lens segment of the plurality of lens segments is adjacent to the second lens segment, and 
 wherein a surface of the third lens segment is sloped to cause a beam from a third VCSEL of the plurality of VCSELs to be steered at a third angle toward the first edge of the diffusion pattern. 
   
     
     
         2 . The bottom-emitting VCSEL chip of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of lens segments is recessed from a top surface of the integrated optical element by a standoff. 
     
     
         3 . The bottom-emitting VCSEL chip of  claim 1 , wherein the first contact and the second contact are on different sides of the bottom-emitting VCSEL chip. 
     
     
         4 . The bottom-emitting VCSEL chip of  claim 1 , wherein the first contact and the second contact are on a same side of the bottom-emitting VCSEL chip. 
     
     
         5 . The bottom-emitting VCSEL chip of  claim 1 , wherein the first set of VCSELs includes the first VCSEL and the third VCSEL, and
 wherein the second set of VCSELs includes the second VCSEL.   
     
     
         6 . The bottom-emitting VCSEL chip of  claim 1 , wherein light from a VCSEL of the plurality of VCSELs is present in a portion of the diffusion pattern that is less than an entirety of the diffusion pattern. 
     
     
         7 . The bottom-emitting VCSEL chip of  claim 1 , wherein a transition between the first lens segment and the second lens segment is smoothed. 
     
     
         8 . The bottom-emitting VCSEL chip of  claim 1 , wherein VCSELs in the plurality of VCSELs are connected such that steering angles provided by the plurality of lens segments change sequentially across the VCSEL array in a particular direction. 
     
     
         9 . The bottom-emitting VCSEL chip of  claim 8 , wherein the steering angles provided by the plurality of lens segments alternate between negative and positive angles across the VCSEL array in the particular direction. 
     
     
         10 . An optical device, comprising:
 a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) array including a plurality of VCSELs,
 wherein a first set of VCSELs of the plurality of VCSELs is connected to a first contact of the optical device and a second set of VCSELs of the plurality of VCSELs is connected to a second contact of the optical device; and 
   an integrated optical element including a plurality of lens segments,
 wherein the integrated optical element is to direct beams provided by the plurality of VCSELs to a particular range of angles to create a diffusion pattern using the beams provided by the plurality of VCSELs, 
 wherein a lens segment of the plurality of lens segments is to steer a beam from a VCSEL of the plurality of VCSELs at a respective particular angle in association with creating the diffusion pattern, 
 wherein a second lens segment of the plurality of lens segments is adjacent to a first lens segment, 
 wherein a third lens segment of the plurality of lens segments is adjacent to the second lens segment, 
 wherein a fourth lens segment of the plurality of lens segments is adjacent to the third lens segment, 
 wherein surfaces of the first lens segment and the second lens segment are sloped to cause beams from two respective VCSELs of the plurality of VCSELs to be steered at angles having opposite directions with respect to a surface of the VCSEL array such that:
 one of the beams, that corresponds to the first lens segment, extends toward a first edge of the diffusion pattern, and 
 another of the beams, that corresponds to the second lens segment, extends toward a second edge of the diffusion pattern, 
 
 wherein surfaces of the third lens segment and the fourth lens segment are sloped to cause beams from two respective VCSELs of the plurality of VCSELs to be steered at angles having a substantially same direction with respect to a surface of the VCSEL array such that:
 the beams associated with the third lens segment and the fourth lens segment, extend toward the first edge of the diffusion pattern. 
 
   
     
     
         11 . The optical device of  claim 10 , wherein the plurality of lens segments is recessed from a top surface of the integrated optical element by a standoff. 
     
     
         12 . The optical device of  claim 10 , wherein the first contact and the second contact are on different sides of the optical device. 
     
     
         13 . The optical device of  claim 10 , wherein the first contact and the second contact are on a same side of the optical device. 
     
     
         14 . The optical device of  claim 10 , wherein a size of a footprint of the integrated optical element matches or is smaller than a size of a footprint of the optical device. 
     
     
         15 . The optical device of  claim 10 , wherein light from a VCSEL of the plurality of VCSELs is present in a portion of the diffusion pattern that is less than an entirety of the diffusion pattern. 
     
     
         16 . The optical device of  claim 10 , wherein a transition between the first lens segment and the second lens segment is smoothed. 
     
     
         17 . An optical device, comprising:
 a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) array including a plurality of VCSELs,
 wherein a first set of VCSELs of the plurality of VCSELs is connected to a first contact of the optical device and a second set of VCSELs of the plurality of VCSELs is connected to a second contact of the optical device, 
 wherein the first contact and the second contact are on different sides of the optical device; and 
   an integrated optical element including a plurality of lens segments,
 wherein the integrated optical element is configured to direct beams provided by the plurality of VCSELs to a particular range of angles to create a diffusion pattern using the beams provided by the plurality of VCSELs, 
 wherein a surface of a first lens segment is sloped to cause a beam from a first VCSEL of the plurality of VCSELs to be steered at a first angle toward a first edge of the diffusion pattern, 
 wherein a second lens segment of the plurality of lens segments is adjacent to the first lens segment, 
 wherein a surface of the second lens segment is sloped to cause a beam from a second VCSEL of the plurality of VCSELs to be steered at a second angle toward a second edge of the diffusion pattern, 
 wherein a third lens segment of the plurality of lens segments is adjacent to the second lens segment, and 
 wherein a surface of the third lens segment is sloped to cause a beam from a third VCSEL of the plurality of VCSELs to be steered at a third angle toward the first edge of the diffusion pattern. 
   
     
     
         18 . The optical device of  claim 17 , wherein the integrated optical element has a first side edge, a second side edge, and a front edge extending between the first side edge and the second side edge,
 wherein the plurality of lens segments are arranged along the front edge, and   wherein the first lens segment is adjacent to the first side edge of the integrated optical element.   
     
     
         19 . The optical device of  claim 17 , wherein the first set of VCSELs includes the first VCSEL and the third VCSEL, and
 wherein the second set of VCSELs includes the second VCSEL.   
     
     
         20 . The optical device of  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of lens segments is recessed from a top surface of the integrated optical element by a standoff at a perimeter of an emission area.